516:;-9 9--,16/ 19, ;4): b · 2019. 4. 4. · 4jgph@ ?6a6@5

17

Volume 25, 2015 British Columbia Birds

Background

There is growing evidence that urban landscapes canharbour impressive proportions of a region’s bird life(Aronson et al. 2014). There is also a growing appreciationof birds in cities as evidenced by the examples of theChicago Bird Agenda and Vancouver Bird FriendlyStrategy. One means to increase the awareness and providedirection for bird conservation in urban areas is to displaythe diversity and abundance of birds in an atlas (e.g.Dinetti et al. 1996; Hadidian et al. 1 997; Ringler 1978;Unitt 2004). Despite the widespread interest, we are awareof only one urban bird atlas in Canada (Smith 2014).

Several studies have related bird abundance to habitatsin the City of Vancouver (Weber 1967; Lancaster and Rees1979; Melles 2001 ; Melles et al. 2003) but little is reportedabout birds in New Westminster. Birds of British Columbia(Campbell et al. 1 990a, 1 990b, 1 997, 2001 ) and the B.C.Breeding Bird Atlas included New Westminster but thedata were reported at a scale larger than the city. W. S.Maguire’s unpublished field notes from the 1930s and1940s during excursions to collect eggs and specimensarchived in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the Uni-versity of British Columbia and other museums in NorthAmerica provide a snapshot of early birdlife in and aroundthe city ofNew Westminster (Maguire 2010, 2013).

Atlases typically cover large geographic areas requiringa large number of people to gather data in designated areas.In contrast, the City of New Westminster covers only 15.3square kilometers with road access to nearly every part ofthe city making assessment relatively quick and easy for afew people. Our aim was to map the abundance and distri-bution of urban birds in New Westminster to guide conser-vation planning, enhance birding opportunities and provideencouragement for citizens to watch birds.

Methods

Breeding Evidence

We visited all regions and habitats in the city to searchfor breeding birds in 2012 and 2013 from May 1 to August31 . Table 1 summarizes the estimated number of visits andtime spent in each region in 2012 and 2013. Each bird ob-servation was scored as a possible, probable or confirmedbreeding species in 2012 or 2013 based upon the behavi-oural cues and nest observations as defined in the B.C.Breeding Bird Atlas (2014).

Each account describes the distribution in the city of allspecies seen or heard during the breeding seasons of 2012and 2013. The accounts include species that are known orhighly suspected to breed in the city.

NewWestminster Breeding Bird Atlas 2012–13

Robert W. Butler1 , Andrew Couturier2, Eva Jenkins3, and Colin McKenzie4

1Bird Studies Canada, R.R. # 1 , 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, BC V4K 3N2

Correspondence: Pacific WildLife Foundation, c/o Reed Point Marina, 850 Barnet Highway, Port Moody, BC V3H 1V6 e-mail: [email protected] Studies Canada P.O. Box 160, 11 5 Front Street, Port Rowan, ON N0E 1M03Bird Studies Canada P.O. Box 6227, 1 7 Waterfowl Lane, Sackville, NB E4L 1G641004-615 Belmont Street, New Westminster BC V3M 6A1

Abstract: New Westminster held 73 breeding species of which 32 were confirmed, 8 were probable, and 33 were possible

breeders in 201 2–1 3. We recorded 48 species during Point Count surveys across the city. The greatest species diversity

was general ly associated with parks. The most frequently observed species in New Westminster were similar to those repor-

ted from Vancouver.

Keywords: New Westminster, breeding birds, atlas

Butler, R.W., A. Couturier, E. Jenkins, and C. McKenzie. 201 5. New Westminster Breeding Bird Atlas 201 2–1 3. British Columbia Birds

25:1 7–39.

New Westminster Breeding Bird Atlas - Butler et al.

18

British Columbia Birds Volume 25, 2015

Abundance

We used the Breeding Bird Survey ‘Point Count’ pro-tocol of the B.C. Breeding Bird atlas to estimate abund-ance. RWB cycled across the city in the morning betweenlate May and early July 2012. He stopped every 500-1000meters (Fig. 1 ) to record a GPS location, time, and allbirds heard or seen in a five minute interval. Binocularswere used to see distant birds.

The Point Count method estimates the relative abund-ance of a species rather than its density and it is acceptableto make comparisons of a species if variation in detectionis controlled (Norvell et al. 2003). Some species are moreeasily seen or heard than others and so it is not acceptableto use point counts to compare among species (Norvell etal. 2003). Our Point Count data were used to describe rel-ative abundance within a species rather than between spe-cies. We assumed that detection bias was the same at alllocations. This assumption might not be entirely correct atPoint Count locations near busy traffic areas. Hearingsinging birds in New Westminster was a challenge alongthe main arterial routes and the downtown core with heavybackground traffic noise. Visits to these areas were madeon Sunday mornings when traffic volume was lower butsome major roads were too noisy to adequately survey.Species with high-pitched faint songs were especially dif-ficult to hear. This effect likely biased the abundance dis-tribution illustrated on the maps against some species inbusier locations of the city.

Mapping

We used Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) to generatemaps of relative abundance for each species recorded dur-

ing the Point Count surveys. We chose KDE as a methoddue to its relative simplicity and because sample sizeswere not large enough to justify more complex geostatist-ical approaches. KDE is a non-parametric method for es-timating densities from point-based distributions anddepicting density over a smoothed surface. In our model,we used the following parameters: 1 ) search radius 750 m,2) output cell size 25 m, and 3) count value (number ofbirds detected) as the weighting factor. Because the birdrecords table only contained data for presences, we inser-ted zero values for all combinations of species and pointcount locations where they were missing prior to runningthe models. The maps depict relative abundance with aquantile classification.

Results

We recorded 73 breeding species of which 32 were con-firmed, 8 were probable and 33 were possible breeders. At leastseven species were extirpated in the past century. Of those 73species, 48 were also detected on the Point Count surveys for atotal of 492 records at 88 unique survey locations. All data wereentered into the B.C. Breeding BirdAtlas (2014) data base.

The mix of species in New Westminster reflects itslargely urban setting. Urban species were numerous andwidespread. New Westminster and Vancouver had 16and 23 species on >10% of their respective point counts(Melles et al. 2003; Table 2). Nine out of the 10 mostfrequently encountered species in the two cities were thesame (European Starling, Northwestern Crow, HouseSparrow, House Finch, American Robin, Black-capped


Table 1 . Estimated number of visits and hours spent searching for breeding evidence of birds in eachregion in 201 2 and 201 3.

19


Chickadee, Rock Pigeon, Violet-green Swallow andSpotted Towhee; Table 2). The Northern Flicker was fre-quently seen only in New Westminster whereas theDark-eyed Junco, Steller’s Jay, Orange-crownedWarbler, Rufous Hummingbird, Swainson’s Thrush, PineSiskin and Brown-head Cowbird were frequently found

only in Vancouver.New Westminster had 73 breeding species represent-

ing about 48% of the 153 species recorded in historicaltime in the Greater Vancouver region (Nature Vancouver2013), albeit many in small numbers. The many speciesthat were common in neighbouring areas but absent or


Figure 1 . New Westmin -ster study area showingintensive point countsampling locations.

Table 2. Mean number of birds detected, number of observations (N) and frequency that1 8 species were recorded on point counts in New Westminster. Only species recorded on≥1 0% of all point counts are shown.

20


scarce in New Westminster reflect a shortage of habitat inthe city. For example, we did not find Black-throatedGray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) or Red-breastedSapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber), although both werepresent in nearby forests. The warbler was seen duringmigration and a male sang in Queens Park on 11 May2008 but we do not know if it nested. Sapsuckers and sap-wells have been seen in Queens Park but we have no nestrecords.

History

From earliest photographs and written descriptions, thelowlands ofNew Westminster at the time of European con-tact was largely bog and swamp and the upland wascovered in mature coastal Douglas-fir forest. Maps by Col-onel Richard Moody and Joseph Trutch from the mid-19thcentury show Lulu Island as marshy ground rimmed withcedar, spruce, alder and small bushes (Hayes 2005). TheRoyal Engineers survey of east Richmond shows “densethickets of crabapple, willow with some spruce trees” and“good red top grass prairie with crabapple.” Further inlandthe “soil swamp [was] covered with moss” with ‘willows,vines and pine brush”, and “cranberry swamp” probablynot unlike parts of Burns Bog are today (Hayes 2005). Ac-companying photos of the city in 1861 show very tall coni-ferous forest overlooking an assemblage of buildings. Thisregion grew massive Douglas-firs that towered over thefledgling city. A photograph in the B.C. Archives (193501 -001 ) taken by Stephen Joseph Thompson about 1897shows the Brunette River running through alders much likeparts of the river does today.

We could find no bird records from New Westminsterat the time of European settlement but we can infer thespecies that were present from current day knowledge oflocal vegetation. The marshy ground would have likelyheld waterfowl, Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis), GreatBlue Heron, Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), andflycatchers, warblers, vireos, and swallows. Forested habit-ats similar to New Westminster are home to a suite offorest dwelling bird species such as woodpeckers, Chest-nut-backed Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, andGolden-crowned Kinglet among others.

Field notes from W.S. Maguire in the 1930s and 1940s(Maguire 2010) reveal the nearby forest uplands and farm-lands along the river held nesting species now extirpated orrare in the city such as the Lewis’s Woodpecker, WesternBluebird, and Common Nighthawk. He also recorded Yel-low Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler, Song Sparrow,Willow Flycatcher, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Swain-son’s Thrush, many of which were present within the citylimits in small numbers during our study.

W. S. Maguire enlisted the help of several local boys tofind nests for him including Garth Sparrow. One area vis-ited regularly was Trapp Ranch, a lowland area most likelyon or immediately west of the present day border of New

Westminster immediately west of Queensborough Bridgeand south of Trapp Road now used as an industrial railyard. Sparrow (Maguire 2013) wrote:

“The area was a mixed bag of flora – part of it

cleared for grass fields for cattle but most of it a

mix of slightly boggy areas, low bush, trees like

willows & vine maples up 25 feet or so, birch trees

(some that as usual became punky for woodpeckers

& chickadees), and good sized conifers for hawks

& crows to nest in.… .Trapp Road area is the area

most often visited over and over again by Walter

[Maguire] and me and the best area in the lower

mainland [where] one could find such a variety of

birds and nests in a one day, one site, jaunt. I'm

sure I'd be very sad to see that there's little left of

that Garden ofEden ifI were to visit there again.”

The bogs, marshes, and mature forests from a century anda half ago have been replaced by urban and residential hous-ing with many mature gardens and ornamental trees, and in-dustrial lands. The Brunette River has a riparian shrub andtree shoreline, and the willow and cottonwood islands inQueen’s Reach have a marshy perimeter. Poplar Island in theNorth Arm of the Fraser is covered in mature cottonwood andwillow. There are small patches of coniferous forest in thecity, the largest being in Queens Park. Many parks have play-ing fields, swimming pools, public walkways, and bike pathswith some portion in a mostly natural state. Hume Park andGlenbrooke Ravine Park have extensive deciduous forests,and Sapperton Landing and Port Royal have had vegetationrestored to approximate natural condition along the river.

Species Accounts

The following accounts are presented in the taxonomicorder of the American Ornithologists’ Union (2013) alongwith relevant national and provincial conservation status(COSEWIC 2014, B.C. Ministry of Environment 2013).The breeding status terms follow the definitions used in theB.C. Breeding Bird Atlas (2014).

Ducks, Geese and Swans. Family: Anatidae

Canada Goose Branta canadensis

Confirmed Breeder

The Canada Geese that nested in the city were offspringof flocks introduced to the Lower Mainland 40 years agoand have grown to many thousands today residing in mostlowland areas of the region (Dawe and Stewart 2010). Thegeese have become a nuisance in some public places andcause ecological damage in some wetlands (Dawe et al.2011 ). In New Westminster, the Canada Goose is not an


21


abundant nestingspecies; only afew pairs nestedin Queensboroughin 2012 and 2013.

Mute Swan Cygnus olor

Probable Breeder

The Mute Swan is a non-native species that has become feralalong parts of the south coast of British Columbia. Two cygnetswith parents were present in Annacis Channel in 2011 and 2012(Pers. comm., Kelly Sekhon, New Westminster, 2012) but thebreeding site was not known. The swans begged for food fromboaters along the river and ate vegetation growing on the riverb-anks.

Wood Duck Aix sponsa

Probable Breeder

TheWood Duck is a denizen ofthe woodlands ofeastern andwestern North America, including southern British Columbia. Itis an abundant nesting species in Burnaby Lake and many quietsloughs in the Lower Mainland but not in NewWestminster. Theabsence ofnesting records in the city reflects the paucity of suit-able wetland habitat and nest sites it requires. Our only record is apair along the Brunette River in Hume Park in 2012. It might nestthere or choose to do so ifa nest box was provided.

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Confirmed Breeder

The Mallard is one of the most widespread species of duckin North Americaand has taken wellto urban environ-ments. Despite itswidespread distri-bution, few Mal-lards nested in NewWestminster be-cause of a shortageof suitable wetlandhabitat. Four siteswhere we sawMallard on thePoint Count sur-veys were a pond at the Justice Institute, Moody Park pool, and

two ditches in Queensborough where a brood ofrecently hatchedducklings was seen in 2012 and 2013 (Fig. 3). Mallards werealso present on a pond in Tipperary Park and hybrid crosses pos-sibly with domestic ducks, were present in Queensborough.

Gadwall Anas strepera

Probable Breeder

The Gadwall is a widespread species of open marsh-land in central North America and along the Pacific Coastincluding the south coast, central interior and in the north-west of the province (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014). Itbreeds in marshes and ponds in the Lower Mainland in-cluding nearby Burnaby Lake, but the scarcity of openmarsh habitat within the city likely precludes it as a breed-ing species. A pair was present in the Brunette River on2013 May 25, possibly scouting a breeding location and afew pairs used the ditches in Queensborough although wehad no confirmation of breeding there during the atlasperiod. (Addendum: a female Gadwall with four ducklingswas seen in a ditch in Queensborough, 2014 July 1 .)

Herons. Family Ardeidae

Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

Conservation Status:COSEWIC: ‘Special Concern’SARA Status: Schedule 1 , ‘Special Concern’British Columbia: ‘Blue-list’

Possible Breeder

The Great Blue Heron is NorthAmerica’s largest andmost widespreadheron. It nestsfrom southernAlaska and south-ern Canada intoMexico. The sub-species occurringin NewWestmin-ster is A. h. fanninithat ranges alongthe west coastfrom Puget Soundto southern Alaska(Butler 1997). Wefound no evidence ofnesting in NewWestminster during theatlas census and many herons foraged within the city limits.W. S. Maguire collected an egg from a nest in NewWestmin-ster in 1938 (Western Foundation ofVertebrate Zoology13847). For these reasons, we listed it as a possible breeder. Alarge colony nested at the mouth of the Coquitlam River anda small colony nested in Deer Lake Park for several years.The Coquitlam colony merged with the Deer Lake colony in2013 resulting in regular foraging flights over the city tofeeding grounds in marshes along the Brunette and Fraser


22


rivers. The conservation status of this subspecies is due toconcerns about frequent nesting failure.

Green Heron Butorides virescens

Conservation status:British Columbia: ‘Blue-list’

Confirmed Breeder

The Green Heron is a lovely small heron foundthroughout the Americas (Hancock and Kushlan1 984). In Canada it is confined to southern Nova Sco-tia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and BritishColumbia. It resides year round in the lower FraserRiver Valley and on the east coast of Vancouver Is-land (Campbell et al. 1 990a, B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas201 4). In New Westminster, it is known to nest onlyalong the Brunette River where a pair raised threeyoung in 201 3 .

Hawks and Vultures. Families Accipitridae and Pandionidae

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

ConfirmedBreeder

Ospreys were decimated near the middle ofthe 20th centurybut through effortsto minimize con-taminants in itsprey, reduce perse-cution and providenesting sites, it hasbeen making acomeback in NorthAmerica. It is oneof the most wide-spread birds ofpreyin the world. NewWestminster issharing in its re-covery with one nesting pair on a river piling in Queen’s Reachin 2012 and 2013.

Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii

Confirmed Breeder

The Cooper’s Hawk is a predator of songbirds that huntsby surprise attack. Alarm calls from its intended victimsusually precede the hawk as it quickly and quietly slipsthrough suburban gardens in hopes of catching a songbirdunawares. Cooper’s Hawks nest in forests including suburb-an areas from southern Canada to northern Mexico. In NewWestminster, the Cooper’s Hawk is a year-round resident. Itwas seen periodically through the breeding season in VictoryHeights, Brow-of-the-hill, the West End and Queensbor-ough. The only confirmed nest was in Tipperary Park in2012 and 2013. Several pairs nesting in nearby Burnaby

likely hunt in New Westminster (Pers. comm., J. Brogan,Simon Fraser University, 2013).

Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis

Possible Breeder

The Red-tailed Hawk is a widespread, soaring hawkfound from Alaska to Panama and across much of Canada.In New Westminster, it frequents the edge of grasslands andforests. It is highly unpopular with crows that harass any thatfly into view. We did not record any Red-tailed Hawks onthe Point Count surveys although individuals were oftenseen in Queens Park and Victory Heights. The nearestknown nest was in a mature cottonwood tree, 280 meterswest of the border with Richmond on Westminster Highway;it held nestlings in 2013.

Merlin Falco columbarius

Possible Breeder

The Merlin is a widespread species in North Americaand is regularlyseen around NewWestminster inwinter where ithunts small birds,often at birdfeeders. It nests inthe Lower Main-land but ouronly sighting wasa single bird call-ing on the PointCounts along theBrunette River.

Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Confirmed Breeder

The Bald Eagle is the largest avian predator inNew Westminster where it is present for most of theyear. The Bald Eagle is found across much of NorthAmerica and is widespread in British Columbia espe-cially along the coast including the Lower Fraser RiverValley (B .C. Breeding Bird Atlas 201 4) . We know ofonly one nest in New Westminster among cottonwoodtrees on an is land in Queens Reach opposite Sapper-ton Landing.

Shorebirds. Families Charadriidae & Scolopacidae

Killdeer Charadrius vociferus

Confirmed Breeder

As its species name, vociferus, infers, the Killdeer is aboisterous, vocal shorebird. It is often heard uttering ashrill killdee before it is seen running along an open field,abandoned lot or along a shoreline. The Killdeer is perhaps


23


best known for its habit of feigning a broken wing to drawwould-be predators from its nest.

The Killdeer is a widespread shorebird in North Amer-ica, including British Columbia where it nests in opencountry (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014). In New West-minster, it occurred along the Fraser River and in vacantlots. In 2013, recently hatched young Killdeers were ob-served in a vacant lot (Sapperton Green) adjacent to theBraid Skytrain Station, in the Brunette River industriallands and near the Starlight Casino in Queensborough.

Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius

Probable Breeder

The Spotted Sandpiper is a widespread breeding shore-bird along rivercourses and wet-lands, includingthe seashores ofBritish Columbia.In New Westmin-ster, a few birdswere seen alongthe Fraser River atSapperton Land-ing and the NorthArm where onebird was alarmcalling and likelynested.

Gulls. Family Laridae

Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens

Confirmed Breeder

The Glaucous-winged Gull is a coastal seabird that breedsmostly on smallislands along thenorth Pacific coast.A few gulls havetaken to city lifein New Westmin-ster where theyscavenge food inparks throughoutthe year. Gullswere seen carry-ing grass for neststo rooftops of afew tall buildingsin the Downtown during the Point Count in 2012 and whereseveral pairs nested in 2013 (Pers. comm., J. X. Coté, NewWesminster, 2013). A bird appeared to be sitting on a nest onpilings in Queens Reach and two pairs possibly nested on abridge support of the Patullo Bridge in 2013.

Pigeons and Doves: Family Columbidae

Rock Pigeon Columba livia

Confirmed Breeder

The Rock Pigeon is a non-native species introducedto North America400 years ago asa source of food(Schorger 1 952).The Rock Pigeonis now well es-tablished acrossmuch of NorthAmerica includingNew Westmin-ster where thespecies is wide-spread. RockPigeons nestedyear round on bridge supports, and on ledges andcrevices in buildings in New Westminster. At least sixpairs nested on the McBride Street pedestrian over-pass. It also nested along the SkyTrain line, in thedowntown and beneath bridges in Queensborough.Nestlings were heard begging for food in a crevice in asupport at the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station in 201 3 .There is no conservation concern for the Rock Pigeonand it is sometimes considered a nuisance.

Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto

Possible Breeder

The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a recent arrival toBritish Columbia (Syroteuk 2008). Our first record in thecity was of a single bird calling in Victory Heights inJune 201 2. A second sighting of an individual dove wasreported from Queensborough in 201 3 (Pers. comm., K.Sekhon).

Owls. Family Tytonidae

Barn Owl Tyto alba

Conservation status:COSEWIC: ‘Threatened’SARA Status: Schedule 1 , ‘Special Concern’British Columbia: ‘Blue-list’

Confirmed Breeder

The cosmopolitan Barn Owl limits its Canadian pres-ence to southwestern British Columbia and southernOntario where it is a denizen of open grasslands, agricul-tural areas and forest edges. Its name alludes to the BarnOwl’s propensity to nest in barns, but it also makes a homein rural buildings, tree cavities and nest boxes. The BarnOwl is mostly a nocturnal hunter of small mammals cap-tured during stealthy silent flights.


24


In British Columbia, the Barn Owl resides year round inthe lower Fraser River Valley on the east coast ofVancouverIsland and in the southern Okanagan (B.C. Breeding BirdAtlas 2014). In New Westminster, it is only known to neston the east side of Queensborough in an old hangar (Pers.comm., Sofi Hindmarch, Pacific WildLife Foundation, PortMoody, B.C., 2013). Pairs also nested on the New Westmin-ster and Coquitlam border on United Boulevard and on An-nacis Island and foraged in New Westminster (Pers. comm.,S. Hindmarch). The western Canadian population of BarnOwls occurring in British Columbia is designated aThreatened Species by COSEWIC and a Schedule 1 , SpecialConcern under the Species at Risk Act due to loss of for-aging habitat from urban developments. Its population issmall and under threat from loss and degradation of grass-lands where they hunt, and conversion of old wooden barnsand other rural buildings where they roost and nest. There isalso a concern that the owl suffers undue losses from colli-sions with vehicles. Erection of a few nest boxes on poles inQueensborough and near Sapperton Landing and retentionof old fields where the owl prefers to search for rodentsmight improve its lot in the city.

Nightjars. Family Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor

Conservation status:COSEWIC: ‘Threatened’SARA Status: Schedule 1 , ‘Threatened’

Possible Breeder

The Common Nighthawk is neither a hawk nor is itcommon. It is an insect eating member of the goatsuckerfamily that is active near dusk making it unlikely to be de-tected on morning Point Counts. The Common Nighthawknests in open country across much of North America in-cluding British Columbia (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014).No nests have been found in New Westminster but a singlebird was heard calling over Victory Heights several timesin 2013. We have records as early as 1987 in VictoryHeights, and over Queens Park and towards Brow-of-the-Hill from late June to mid-August in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

The call is used to demarcate a breeding territory sug-gesting the species nested in the city or nearby, perhaps onflat, gravel-covered roofs in Sapperton. The nighthawknests in the open on the ground where it relies on its cam-ouflaged markings to remain unseen.

Swifts. Family Apodidae

Vaux’s Swift Chaetura vauxi

Possible Breeder

Vaux’s Swift is a western North American species. Itregularly foraged along the eastern slope of Victory

Heights in 2013 and, on 2013 June 29, three Vaux’s Swiftschased one another around a chimney at a house in QueensPark. The calling and swooping flights appeared to becentered round a brick chimney at a house on First Avenue.There are very few nesting records of the Vaux’s Swift inBritish Columbia but it is known to use chimneys and hol-low trees (Thompson 1977; Campbell et al. 1 990b).Campbell et al. (1 990b) confirmed nesting from only fourlocations in British Columbia although they believed nest-ing to likely be more widespread. The scarcity of recordsof this species in British Columbia highlights the import-ance of the possible record for New Westminster. Vaux’sSwift eat a variety of winged insects including flies, aph-ids, and ants that they catch on foraging trips within about5 kilometers of their nests according to Bull and Beckwith(1993), who also estimated that each nestling swift was fedhundreds of thousands of insects.

Hummingbirds. Family Trochilidae

Anna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna

Possible Breeder

It seems that French naturalist René Primevère was sostruck by the beauty of Duchess of Rivoli, Anna Messenathat he named the Anna’s Hummingbird after her. But theAnna’s Hummingbird is remarkable for more than just itsbeauty. It also nests in the dead of winter when snow andice can grip the region (Campbell 2009).

Anna’s Hummingbird is a west coast species whosebreeding range stretches along the Pacific coast fromnorthern Mexico to southern Canada. In British Columbia,breeding records are mostly confined to southwest cornerof the province (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014). It is a re-cent arrival having expanded its range into BritishColumbia in the past few decades. It was first reported tonest in the province in 1958 and by the 1970s it had be-come well established in the Lower Mainland and on Van-couver Island (Campbell et al. 1 997). It was first detectedin Burnaby on the annual Christmas Bird Count in 2008(Pers. comm., George Clulow, Burnaby, B.C.) and arrivedin Queens Park and Victory Heights in 2010. The Anna’sHummingbird is now regularly seen during the breedingseason and immature hummingbirds visit gardens but nonests have yet been found.

Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus

Possible Breeder

The Rufous Hummingbird migrates north in earlyspring to breed from Oregon to Alaska. It is widespread inmuch ofBritish Columbia (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014)and is abundant in the Lower Fraser Valley. In New West-minster the story is quite different where birds are seenaround gardens in the city during migration and occasion-ally during the breeding season, but never very commonly.


25


We detected itonly along theBrunette River inHume Park. Anest holding twoyoung was foundat Trapp Ranchby G. Sparrow on1943 May 23(Maguire 2013).

Woodpeckers. Family Picidae

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

Possible Breeder

The Downy Woodpecker is North America’s smallestand most wide-spread wood-pecker. It is foundthroughout theforested regions,particularly indeciduous forests.This woodpeckerwas most numer-ous on PointCounts along theBrunette Riverand in Hume Parkalthough it wasseen at other times in Glenbrook Ravine, Queens Park, andon boulevard trees. It likely uses any forested area in thecity. Outside the breeding season, the Downy Woodpeckerfrequents backyards in NewWestminster. (Addendum: arecently-fledged Downy Woodpecker was fed by an adultparent in Queen’s Park in June 2014.)

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

Confirmed Breeder

The Northern Flicker is one of North America’s mostnumerous and widespread woodpeckers. Its breeding rangeincludes most of North America, and parts of Mexico andthe Caribbean. It has a habit of drumming out its presenceon tree limbs, metal chimneys and roof cladding, or anyother convenient sounding board, often to the annoyance ofinhabitants. This behaviour appears unrelated to territorialownership because the ephemeral nature of its preferreddiet of ants is unpredictable (Elchuck and Wiebe 2003).The flicker diet is largely ants although it includes insectlarvae excavated from dead trees, fruit rarely, and suetprovided at bird feeders (Moore 1995). The Northern

Flicker is a res-ident species de-tected in manyplaces on PointCounts in NewWestminster. Ournest records in-clude adults feed-ing young in anest in a telephonepole in VictoryHeights and re-cently fledgedyoung seen alongthe Brunette River.

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Possible Breeder

The great size, black body with white wing liningsand red crest of the Pileated Woodpecker is hard tomiss. It requires mature trees for nesting sites that itexcavates using the large beak. A pair of PileatedWoodpeckers occurred regularly at a bird feeder inVictory Heights during the nesting season of 201 3 butwe could find no evidence that it nested in the city.The pair arrived and departed in the direction of aforested ravine in Hume Park where some sufficientlylarge trees grow that could accommodate this species.

Flycatchers. Family Tyrannidae

Pacific-slope Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis

Possible Breeder

The Pacific-slope Flycatcher is a western denizen ofmixed forests; it isparticularly nu-merous along thecoast of BritishColumbia (Camp-bell et al. 1 997;B .C. BreedingBird Atlas 2014).It arrives in thecity in mid-Mayand departs bymid-September. InNew Westminster,the Pacific-slopeFlycatcher is not numerous. It was heard on Point Countssinging from the forest in Glendale Ravine and we heard asinging male in Queens Park in addition to the surveys.


26


Western Wood-Pewee Contopus sordidulus

Possible Breeder

The Western Wood-Pewee is a widespread breedingspecies in westernNorth Americaincluding southernBritish Columbia(Campbell et al.1 997). It nests ingardens andcultivated land-scapes similar tothose in NewWestminster, butour only record onthe Point Countswas a single sing-ing male in Queensborough.

Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii

Possible Breeder

Shrubby areas with water nearby are usually indica-tions of anabundance of in-sects and arewhere WillowFlycatchers fre-quent during thebreeding season.It is widespreadacross NorthAmerica but con-fined to thesouthern half ofBritish Columbia(Campbell et al.1 997; B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 201 4). In New West-minster, the Willow Flycatcher arrives in May and de-parts by September. It was heard on Point Counts alongthe Brunette River, Sapperton Landing and in Queens-borough. At other times, we heard singing males in aforest patch east of the Justice Institute and on PoplarIsland.

Vireos, Family Vireonidae

Cassin’s Vireo Vireo cassinii

Possible Breeder

Cassin’s Vireo is a western species the nests in maturemixed forests. It breeds in southern British Columbia,including the Lower Mainland (Campbell et al. 1 997: B.C.Bird Atlas 201 4). In New Westminster it was heard singingon the Point Counts in Hume Park in mixed big-leafmaple, alder and coniferous forest along the Brunette

River in 201 2. Itwas not detectedthere in 201 3 .

Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus

Possible Breeder

The Warbling Vireo is widespread across North Amer-ica during thebreeding seasonin shrubs andsmall trees oftennear water. InNew Westmin-ster, the WarblingVireo was heardon Point Countsin Hume Park,along BrunetteRiver, QueensPark, and in theWest End. Wealso heard singing males in Queensborough and it islikely more widespread than the maps indicate.

Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus

Possible Breeder

The Red-eyed Vireo is a summer songster whose lan-guid, robin-likesongs harkenwarm summerdays in the de-ciduous wood-lands. It is a smalland drab songbirdthat lazily movesthrough the can-opies of deciduoustrees in search ofits insect prey.Sighting a vireorequires a patientbirdwatcher. Enjoy the song while hunting for it among theleaves. The Red-eyed Vireo’s breeding range spans most ofsouthern Canada and the northwest and eastern USA. It iswidespread on the British Columbia mainland and on Van-


27


couver Island but in New Westminster, the only record onthe Point Count survey was in Hume Park.

Hutton’s Vireo Vireo huttoni

Possible Breeder

There is a good chance that the Hutton’s Vireo willgo unnoticed except by the ardent birdwatcher. It is adrab little songbird that inhabits mixed deciduous andconiferous forests where it searches out small insectsamong the leaves and branches. It is a west coast speciesthat resides year round from southern British Columbiato Guatemala. In British Columbia, it is confined to thesouthwest coast (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014). InNew Westminster, the Hutton’s Vireo is a scarce speciesand requires confirmation that it breeds there. A singingadult in Queens Park in July 2013 was our only recordfor this species.

Crows and Jays. Family Corvidae

Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri

Confirmed Breeder

The Steller’s Jay is an abundant species that makes itspresence knownby its harsh calland bold beha-viour. It occurs inthe western moun-tains from Alaskato Nicaragua and iswidespread inBritish Columbia.The subspecies thatoccurs in NewWestminster is C.s. stelleri thatranges from Alaskaalong the Pacific Coast to British Columbia. The Steller's Jayis largely a coniferous forest species although it will readilymove into deciduous forests and suburban gardens. Itresides year round in New Westminster although we detec-ted it only in Hume Park on the Point Count surveys. Wefound nests and saw recently fledged young in VictoryHeights in 2012 and 2013.

Common Raven Corvus corax

Confirmed Breeder

The Common Raven is found across much of the northernhemisphere including British Columbia (B.C. Breeding BirdAtlas 2014). It is an iconic protagonist of a west coast culturerooted in many First Nations stories but is the nemesis of thecrow. The Common Raven is the largest of a triumvirate of cor-vids in New Westminster that includes the Steller’s Jay andNorthwestern Crow. Nesting pairs are highly territorial and

spend a great dealof effort expellingother ravens.Ravens have re-cently nested inthe city underbridges includingthe southern endof the Queens-borough Bridge.Ravens were alsoheard in HumePark perhaps ori-ginating from apair that nested beneath a bridge on Highway 1 where itpassed over the Brunette River. Fledged young were seen be-ing fed by adults at the south end of the QueensboroughBridge in 2012 on 26 May and 18 September.

Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus

Confirmed Breeder

The Northwestern Crow lives year-round along the Pacific Coastbetween Washing-ton and Alaska. InBritish Columbia,it frequents sea-shores, towns andcities west of theCoast Range (B.C.Breeding BirdAtlas2014). Whetheryou love or loathethe NorthwesternCrow, there is nodenying its coex-istence in ourworld. The crow has taken to city living like few other nat-ive species of birds and although its penchant for stealingbrings it ill repute, it also provides an overlooked service asa feathered disposal unit for street garbage. The crowquickly dispatches road-killed animals, eats insects, andworms, and dispenses with cast off food. Preying uponsmall bird's eggs and nestlings is not out of the question.Post-breeding crows in New Westminster joined thousandsmore from the region in late afternoon at a common roost inBurnaby where they spent the night.

The crow appears to have become more widespread inthe city over the years. W. S. Maguire’s field notes fromthe 1930s and 1940s refer to long searches to find nests(Maguire 2010). He succeeded and the specimens and eggsnow reside in collections (Royal Ontario Museum: speci-men 506817 collected in 1936, and Western Foundation ofVertebrate Zoology: eggs 1 3847 & 141962 in 1938and1940, respectively). The Point Count surveys detectedthe crow across much of New Westminster with the


28


greatest densities in the suburban neighbourhoods ofQueens Park and Victory Heights.

Swallows. Family Hirundinidae

Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor

Possible Breeder

The Tree Swallow is one of the earliest migratory birdsin Greater Van-couver. The firstvanguard arrivesin February fol-lowed in Marchby large numbersof migrants. Itis a widespreadbreeding speciesin Canada andnorthern USA.The Tree Swal-low is abundantin the LowerMainland but not in New Westminster. Our only recordfrom the Point Counts was from the Brunette IndustrialLands where swallows fed on insects along the river.The absence of the Tree Swallow in New Westminsterreflects the paucity of marshland where the speciesthrives.

Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina

Confirmed Breeder

The Violet-green Swallow is a widespread breedingspecies in west-ern Canada andUSA includingNew Westmin-ster, especially inthe Brunette In-dustrial Landsand Queensbor-ough. Confirmednesting occurredin Victory Heightswhere the Violet-green Swallowraised a family in2012 and 2013. Swallows are insectivorous birds thatthat eat flies and mosquitoes and thereby could helplimit the spread of disease vectors such as West Nile dis-ease. The provision of nest boxes around the city wouldassist this species and the Tree Swallow in New West-minster.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Probable Breeder

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a drab wide-spread swallowthat nests fromsouthern Canadato northern Mex-ico. Its breedingrange includesmuch of BritishColumbia exceptHaida Gwaii, andit is more numer-ous in the south-ern half of theprovince (B .C.Breeding BirdAtlas 2014). It nests in burrows in riverbanks usually assingle pairs. We saw this species along the Fraser River andscouting a nest hole in the Brunette River industrial landsduring the Point Count survey and at Poplar Island along theNorth Arm in summer. The sandbanks of Poplar Islandwould be suitable nesting habitat for this species but wewere unable to confirm if it nested there.

Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Confirmed Breeder

Few people give a moment’s notice to this species inNew Westmin-ster unaware thatit undertakes anastounding mi-gration to SouthAmerica eachyear. Moreover,few people knowthat the Cliff Swal-low is the speciesthat brought world-wide fame to theSan Juan Cap-istrano Mission inCalifornia where its supposed legendary punctual returnwas celebrated each spring.

The Cliff Swallow is a colonial nesting species thatbuilds gourd-shaped nests using small pellets of mudgathered by the mouthful on wet edges of puddles andrivers. It arrives in New Westminster in April and departsin September. Thirty-five new nests were in various stagesof construction on the west side of Annacis Island Bridgeon 2013 June 2. We saw remains of nests beneath Queens-borough and other bridges along the Fraser River suggestingthat the species relocated colonies among several bridges.


29


(Addendum: at least ten pairs of Cliff Swallows were seenentering and exiting nests beneath the QueensboroughBridge in June 2014.)

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Conservation status:COSEWIC: ‘Threatened’British Columbia: ‘Blue-list’

Probable Breeder

The Barn Swallow is an open country species and one ofthe world’s mostwidespread birds.It nests acrossmuch of south-ern Canada, theUSA and Mex-ico, Europe andAsia. The BarnSwallow builds amud cup nestthat adheres insheltered sites suchas barns and otheropen-air buildings.

The Barn Swallow arrives in New Westminster in Apriland stays until mid-October. Despite being one of the mostwidespread species in the world, the Barn Swallow has un-dergone a decline in abundance beginning in the 1980s. Itwas most abundant in Queensborough and at the mouth ofthe Brunette River. It nested in sheltered locations in openbuildings and foraged for flying insects along the river. TheBarn Swallow frequented the uplands of New Westminsterand nested in Massey and Victory Heights in the 1980swhere it is now absent as a breeding bird. The species, al-though still present in Queensborough, is less abundant thanin the recent past (Pers. comm., K. Sekhon). We have nonesting records for the atlas period although swallows werepresent during the breeding season and therefore likelynested. This species requires open access to buildings whereit can build mud nests and open country or marshes with anabundance of insects.

Chickadees and Bushtit. Families Paridae & Aegithalidae

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

Confirmed Breeder

The Black-capped Chickadee is a widespread speciesin southern Canada and the northern USA (Foote et al.2010). In British Columbia, it is confined mostly east of theCoast Range except in a few coastal valleys including theFraser Valley where it resides year-round in mixed forestsand gardens. The chickadee was widespread in New West-minster with the greatest density in the gardens of the

Queens Park andMassey - VictoryHeights neigh-bourhoods. Adultswere seen carryingfood to nests orfeeding fledglingsin Queensborough,Queens Park, TheHeights, and theWest End.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens

Possible Breeder

Enter a coniferous forest in coastal BritishColumbia and one of the first birds you are likely toencounter is the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. It alsooccurs in the southern interior coniferous forest (B.C.Breeding Bird Atlas 201 4). In New Westminster, thischickadee is a scarce resident that likely breeds in thecity in very small numbers. Queens Park had the mostbirds amidst tall Douglas-firs and it occurred occa-sionally in Tipperary Park. It was not detected on thePoint Counts in 201 2.

Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus

Confirmed Breeder

The tiny, nondescript Bushtit makes up for its drab col-ouration with itssprightly beha-viour. The dimin-utive inhabitant ofgardens and forestedges hunts tinyinsects by hang-ing from tips ofbranches andsearching underleaves and amongflowers. It reachesthe northern edgeof its North Amer-ican range along the southwest coast of British Columbiawhere it arrived in historical times (Butler 1981 ). TheBushtit is a resident of New Westminster, particu-larly along the Brunette River, in the vicinity ofQueens Park and the West End. We also heard orsaw the Bushtit in Queensborough, Victory Heights ,Glenbrooke Ravine and many other places in thecity.


30


Nuthatches and Creepers. Families Sittidae & Certhidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis

Confirmed Breeder

The diminutive Red-breasted Nuthatch is a coniferousforest-dwelling songbird that forages by descending head-first down tree trunks. This species is widespread in NorthAmerica, including British Columbia and the Lower FraserValley (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014). We did not hear iton the Point Count surveys. The paucity of coniferous forestgreatly restricts where it will nest. A confirmed nesting re-cord was obtained in 2012 when a nuthatch arrived at a nestwith begging young inside a hemlock stump in Queens Park.

Brown Creeper Certhia americana

Confirmed Breeder

The Brown Creeper is an elusive, tiny bird often over-looked due to its camouflaged plumage. It is often locatedby its high pitched call before being seen hopping up treetrunks. It has a habit of flying to the base of a tree trunkwhere it proceeds slowly up the tree in a series of hops.

The diminutive Brown Creeper is widespread acrossNorth America from Alaska and southern Canada throughmuch of the USA and mountains of Mexico. It nests incavities, beneath loose bark and in cracks in trees. A fewcreepers reside year-round in the city, mostly in conifertrees. Recently-fledged young creepers were seen in HumePark in May 2013. A nest with young was found in Tipper-ary Park in 2008 and another in Queens Park in 2005.

Wrens. Family Troglodytidae

Bewick’s Wren Thryomanes bewickii

Possible BreederBewick’s (pronounced ‘buick’ , like the car) Wren is

an active, highly-vocal denizen ofshrubs and de-ciduous forests.Its range coversmuch of the south-ern and westernUSA and as farnorth as south-western and thesouthern interiorofBritish Columbia(B. C. BreedingBird Atlas 2014).The Bewick’s Wren decline in abundance in the easternpart of its range (Kennedy and White 1 996) apparently didnot occur in British Columbia (Campbell et al. 1 997; Ryder201 3). It is a year-round resident of Greater Vancouver, in-cluding New Westminster where it was most numerous on

Point Counts in Glenbrooke Ravine. However, we also heardwrens singing in Queensborough, Hume Park, and along theBrunette River.

Pacific Wren Troglodytes pacificus

(formerlyWinter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes)Possible Breeder

The Pacific Wren was recently recognized as a newspecies distinct from the widespread Winter Wren (Toewsand Irwin 2008). The Pacific Wren is confined to westernNorth America from Alaska to California and eastward toWyoming. It is a tiny songbird with a big voice. Thebreathless song bursts from dank forests throughout muchof the lower Mainland. The forest type preferred by thisboisterous songster is scarce in New Westminster and thereare only a few places where it can be found. We did nothear any on the Point Count in 2012 but two male wrenswere heard singing in Glenbrooke Ravine in June 2013 andwrens were present there in autumn and winter.

Kinglets. Family: Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa

Possible Breeder

Enter a coniferous forest in British Columbia and beforelong the highpitched twitteringof the Golden-crowned Kingletwill likely be heard(B.C. BreedingBird Atlas 2014).The kinglet is atiny songbird thatresides mostly inthe canopies ofconiferous forestswhere it builds itsnest and searches forinsects. It is a resident and widespread species in BritishColumbia. In New Westminster, this kinglet is common inwinter but only a few were detected on Point Counts in theconiferous forests in such places as Queens Park and TipperaryPark.

Thrushes. Family Turdidae

Swainson’s Thrush Catharus ustulatus

Possible Breeder

The Swainson's Thrush is an ancient North Americanspecies that diverged into several subspecies about 10,000years ago following the last ice age (Ruegg and Smith 2002;Winker and Pruett 2006). It is a drab elusive songbird of de-


31


ciduous wood-lands that singsone of nature’sgreat songs. Thethrush spendsmost of its timeout of sight,skulking about inthe forest insearch of insectprey and at its se-cretive nest inshrubs and trees.It is widespreadin Canada (Campbell et al. 1997; B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas2014). In New Westminster, the Swainson’s Thrush arrivesin mid-May and departs in September. It occurred inhighest density on the Point Counts in the deciduous wood-lands in Hume Park and Glenbrook Ravine. Six singingmales were heard in Glenbrooke Ravine in June 2013 andindividual singing males were heard at other times inQueen’s Park, on Poplar Island and in Queensborough.

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Confirmed Breeder

The American Robin is among the most recognized andadaptable song-bird in NorthAmerica. It in-habits lawns,parks, deciduousforests, and gar-dens in NewWestminster. TheAmerican Robinis a year-roundresident in thecity where it dis-perses to breedingterritories in Feb-ruary. It built nests in shrubs, on tree limbs, and humanstructures in the city. The species became less conspicuousand probably less common in late summer when summerheat parched the city lawns. The American Robin was foundnearly everywhere in the city on the Point Counts with es-pecially high densities in Hume Park, Glenbrook andQueens Park, Brunette River and eastern Queensborough.

Starlings. Family Sturnidae

European Starling Sturnus vulgaris

Confirmed Breeder

The European Starling is one of a European triumviratethat includes the House Sparrow and Rock Pigeon that have

come to dominateurban regions ofNorth America. Itis a highly adapt-able species thatfeeds on a varietyof foods includingsuet in bird feed-ers, discards fromhumans, naturaloccurring fruitsand insects. It ar-rived in BritishColumbia in themid 20th century to become a year-round resident in thesouthern interior and in coastal areas of the province (Camp-bell et al. 1 997). Scores of post-breeding starlings gather eachsummer in Queensborough to eat elderberries and blackber-ries. The European Starling is a numerous, widespread res-ident-species in NewWestminster. The greatest concentrationson Point Counts were in the industrial and commercial districtsofBrunette, Sapperton, Royal Square, Uptown, 12th Street andQueensborough.

Waxwings. Family Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum

Possible Breeder

Although the CedarWaxwing’s name implies a fondnessfor cedars, it islargely a fruit-eat-ing songbird. InBritish Columbia,the waxwing iswidespread espe-cially at lower el-evations (B.C.Breeding BirdAt-las 2014). In NewWestminster, itwas widespreadtoo, especially inshrubby habitatsalong the Fraser and Brunette rivers, Sapperton Landing, andin Queensborough.

Wood-warblers. Family Parulidae

Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata

Confirmed Breeder

The Orange-crowned Warbler is an abundant springmigrant along the coast of British Columbia. It is largely aspring migrant in New Westminster. The few that bred


32


used shrubby areas along the Brunette River where anadult was seen carrying food to fledglings in July 2013.

Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas

Possible Breeder

The Common Yellowthroat has a widespread distribu-tion across North America during the breeding season ingrassy and marshy areas but it occurs in New Westminsterin only a few places where there is tall grass. Singingmales were heard along Duncan Street and along CampbellStreet between Ewen and Salter Avenues in Queensbor-ough in 2013 (Pers. comm., K. Sekhon). G. Sparrow repor-ted a nest holding four eggs at Trapp Ranch on 1952 May31 (Maguire 2013).

Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia

Possible Breeder

The sprightly Yellow Warbler is widespread acrossNorth Americaduring the breed-ing season indense under-growth ofshrubs,especially willow,and small treesoften near water.In New West-minster, the Yel-low Warbler washeard singing inthe forest inHume Park andin Queensborough where a nest was found several yearsago (Pers. comm., K. Sekhon).

Townsend’s Warbler Setophaga townsendi

Possible Breeder

British Columbia is the centre of the world distributionof the Townsend’s Warbler spilling into Alaska, Yukon andnorthwestern USA. It is widespread in the province includ-ing on the coastal islands (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014).At one time, much of New Westminster was covered bymature conifer forest that would have been home to manyTownsend’s Warblers. Migrating Townsend’s Warbler oc-cur in gardens and forests ofNew Westminster in April andMay, and in August and September, but few stay to nest.Singing males were heard in Queens Park, none during thePoint Count surveys.

Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata

Confirmed Breeder

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is a widespread breed-ing species in North America including much of Brit-ish Columbia (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 201 4). Both

the Audubon and Myrtle form of Yellow-rumpedWarbler occur in large numbers in the city on migra-tion but only the Audubon form stays to breed and it isnot common. To find a Yellow-rumped Warbler re-quires careful listening for the songs in coniferousforests in Queens Park where an adult carrying foodwas seen in June 2008.

Wilson’s Warbler Cardellina pusilla

Possible Breeder

The sprightly Wilson’s Warbler is widespread acrossNorth Americaand occurs inlarge numbers inNew Westminsterduring springmigration. Weheard singingmales on the PointCounts in HumePark and Glen-brooke Ravineand at other timesin Queens Parkand adj oiningresidential areas, in Tipperary Park, and along South DykeRoad in Queensborough.

Emberizine Sparrows. Family Emberizidae

Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus

Confirmed Breeder

The Spotted Towhee is a large, ground-foragingsparrow confinedto the southern re-gions of the west-ern provinces inCanada includingBritish Columbia(Campbell et al.1997; B.C. Breed-ing Bird Atlas2014). Towheeswere widespread inthe city. Nearlyeverywhere therewere shrubs, thetowhee was present. Despite its abundance, the towheeis especially secretive around its nest that is built onor near the ground under the cover of a shrub. Con-firmed nesting records include recently-fledgedyoung seen in Victory/Massey Heights in 201 2 andGlenbrook South in 201 3 .


33


Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis

Possible Breeder

The Savannah Sparrow is a grassland nesting specieswhere its buzzy,lisping song is of-ten heard beforethe bird is seen.The SavannahSparrow is a wide-spread breedingspecies in NorthAmerica whereseveral subspeciesare recognized(Zink et al. 2005).The subspecies inNew Westminsteris likely P. s. brooksi, whose range extends from southerncoastal British Columbia to northern California. It was likelynumerous in the city in the 1940s when open fields were stillpresent. A specimen collected in 1888 is held by the RoyalOntario Museum (58156). Only one record of this species wasrecorded during our Point Count surveys in a vacant lot inQueensborough. We also heard singing males at an empty lotadjacent to the Braid Street Skytrain Station (SappertonGreen) in summer of2013.

Song SparrowMelospiza melodia

Confirmed Breeder

The Song Sparrow is a ubiquitous breeding species acrossNorth Americaincluding much ofBritish Columbia(B .C. BreedingBird Atlas 2014).In New Westmin-ster, the SongSparrow occurredin high densities inGlenbrook Rav-ine, Hume Park,along the BrunetteRiver and in Queens-borough. It alsofrequented gardens with shrubs. Confirmed nesting recordsinclude recently-fledged young accompanying an adult inVictory Heights in 2012 and an adult feeding recently-fledgedyoung in Queens Park in 2013.

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

Confirmed Breeder

The Dark-eyed Junco is a widespread breeding speciesin British Columbia (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 2014) thatreadily visits bird feeders in New Westminster in the winter,

but most departed the city in spring. To find a junco in thesummer in New Westminster requires a diligent search. Amale sang in Queens Park in June 2013 and a recently-fledged young was seen in Victory Heights the same year.Nesting juncos have been reported in the past. One was seencarrying food for nestlings in Queens Park in June 2008.

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Confirmed Breeder

The White-crowned Sparrow in New Westminster isthe Puget Soundsubspecies Z. l.pugetensis. Stepfrom your car innearly any shop-ping mall parkinglot in New West-minster that has afew ornamentalshrubs in springand you will beserenaded by thissparrow. Its prop-ensity for shop-ping mall parking lots arises from a similarity to its naturalhabitat of open shrubby areas. This sparrow is at home inurban and rural settings. It occurred in many places in NewWestminster especially in the shopping areas of Queens-borough, McBride and Eighth Avenue, and the industriallands along the Brunette River, but also in suburban gar-dens and parks. We saw fledgling Brown-headed Cowbirdsbeing fed by adult sparrows in Queensborough and Glen-brook.

Cardinals. Family Cardinalidae

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana

Possible Breeder

One of the joys of spring is the arrival of brightly-col-oured songbirdsfor the breedingseason. The maleWestern Tanageris a stunninglytropical-lookingcreature with yel-low body, blackwings and scarletred head that nestsin western coni-ferous forestsfrom Alaska tonorthern Mexico.


34


The Western Tanager is a widespread breeding speciesfound across much of British Columbia except on HaidaGwaii where it is absent as a breeding species (B.C. Breed-ing Bird Atlas 2014). The species is not abundant in NewWestminster likely because of a paucity of suitable coni-ferous forest habitat. It was detected in mature conifers inHume Park and Queens Park on the Point Count surveys.

Black-headed Grosbeak Pheucticus melanocephalus

Possible Breeder

In summer, the loud, boisterous song of the Black-headedGrosbeak rever-berates out of de-ciduous forests. Itarrives in mid-May and departsnear the end ofAugust. The gros-beak breeds fromsouthern BritishColumbia throughthe western USAinto Mexico (Or-tega and Hill201 0) . In NewWestminster, the Black-headed Grosbeak occurred in Glen-brook Ravine, Hume Park, Brunette River and Queensbor-ough. We also heard it on Poplar Island, saw it in gardens inVictory Heights and in Queens Park. The grosbeak prefers tonest in deciduous forests where there are dense shrubs.

Blackbirds. Family Icteridae

Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus

Confirmed Breeder

The Brewer’s Blackbird is a native species towestern NorthAmerica that isnamed in hon-our of ThomasMayo Brewer, a1 9th centuryAmerican orni-thologist and acorrespondent ofCharles Darwin.It breeds widelyin the northeastand southern re-gions of BritishColumbia (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas 201 4) and is aresident in Greater Vancouver. A colony of at least 4pairs nested at the junction of Boyd Avenue and FentonStreet in Queensborough. The blackbirds displayed on

telephone wires, fed in a vacant lot and along the roadand entered ornamental shrubs where they presumablyhad nests. A young blackbird was seen to be fed byadults there on 201 2 May 26.

Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus

Probable Breeder

The Red-winged Blackbird is one of North Amer-ica’s most widespread and numerous species but not soin New Westminster. It resides year-round in the regionbut only a few breed in New Westminster. Several malesdefended nest territories in a cattail and willow marsh inQueens Reach and one male sang at a slough alongBoyd Road in Queensborough. None were heard on thePoint Counts. The paucity of records reflects the ab-sence of marsh cattail habitat it prefers.

Brown-head CowbirdMolothrus ater

Confirmed Breeder

The Brown-headed Cowbird is a brood parasitic black-bird that depositseggs into the nestsof many speciesof songbirds. Notsurprisingly, thedistribution ofcowbirds mirror-ed places in NewWestminster wheremany songbirdsnested. High dens-ities on the PointCounts were foundalong the BrunetteRiver, and in Glenbrook Ravine, Hume Park and Queensbor-ough. The cowbird is widespread in North America and ayear-round resident in the Greater Vancouver region. A fewyears ago, a multi-layered nest of a Yellow Warbler wasfound in Queensborough built over a clutch with a cowbirdegg (Pers. comm., K, Sekhon). Young cowbirds were seenbeing fed by adult White-crowned Sparrows in Queens-borough and Glenbrook in 2013.

Finches and Allies. Family Fringillidae

Purple Finch Haemorhous purpureus

Possible Breeder

The Purple Finch breeds along the Pacific Coastfrom British Columbia to California and east throughmuch of southern Canada and the northwest USA. InBritish Columbia it breeds on southern Vancouver Is-land, the Lower Fraser Valley and in the central andnorthern parts of the province (B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas2014). W.S. Maguire reported a flock of six outside his


35


Queens Parkhome in March1 939 (Maguire201 0) and G.Sparrow recordeda female carryingnest material on1943 April 15(Maguire 2013).He noted that thespecies had notbeen reported tonest in the area.We had only onerecord of a singing male in Hume Park on the PointCount surveys.

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Confirmed Breeder

The House Finch greatly expanded its breeding range acrosssouthern Canadaand the USA in thepast 50 years. Itarrived on theBritish Columbiacoast by 1947 andbecame well es-tablished about adecade later(Campbell et al.2001). It does wellin ornamental gar-dens and shrubbyareas typical ofmuch of the residential areas in New Westminster. The HouseFinch was one of the most widely encountered species on thePoint Counts. We confirmed the House Finch nested in thecity when a fledgling was seen being fed at Fourth andColumbia Street in 2013.

American Goldfinch Spinus tristis

Possible Breeder

Ifever there wasa living garden or-nament for NewWestminster, theAmerican Goldfinchwould be it. Themale is sharplydressed in a brightyellow coat offeathers sporting ablack cap and wingswith white wingstripes. It is wide-

spread across central NorthAmerica and confined to southern re-gions ofBritish Columbia (Campbell et al. 2001; B.C. BreedingBird Atlas 2014). The American Goldfinch is a species of openshrubby habitats and gardens especially where there are birdfeeders in the city. The goldfinch resides year round in the cityand is a relatively late–nester, starting in July. In New Westmin-ster, the American Goldfinch was recorded on Point Countsalong the Brunette River, Sapperton Landing and in Queensbor-ough and we heard it in flight at other times over many parts ofthe city.

Pine Siskin Spinus pinus

Possible Breeder

As its name implies, the Pine Siskin is a denizen of con-iferous forests. Itis a small songbirdthat eats seeds thatit extracts fromcones of conifer-ous trees. Itsbreeding rangespans most ofCanada, Alaska,and the westernand northern USA.The Pine Siskinis considered anirruptive speciesthat forms large flocks that roam the forests in search ofpine crops. When food is plentiful, the birds arrive inlarge numbers and often begin to breed. Pine Siskin alsotake readily to bird feeders and it was a common back-yard species in New Westminster in winter. Some indi-viduals in New Westminster backyards appeared illperhaps from a strain of Salmonella that strikes this andother songbirds (Hernandez et al. 2012). Our only recordon the Point Count surveys was in coniferous forest inHume Park.

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Confirmed Breeder

The HouseSparrow is a wide-spread, introducedspecies in manyparts of the worldwhere it frequentsurban areas andsurrounding coun-tryside almost al-ways in associationwith human habit-ation. This oldworld sparrow be-came an urban


36


dweller by adapting to city living where it nested under eaves, inholes in buildings and spaces under bridges and ate food scrapsaround restaurants, spilled grain, weed seeds, and insects. TheHouse Sparrow was a ubiquitous breeding bird species in NewWestminster. We detected it in every region with especially highdensities in Sapperton, the Downtown where we saw it feedingyoung, and developed region ofwestern Queensborough.

Extirpated Species

Western Screech OwlMegascops kennicottii kennicottii

Conservation status:COSEWIC: ‘Threatened’SARA Status: Schedule 1 , ‘Special Concern’British Columbia: ‘Blue-list’

W. S. Maguire collected a specimen ofWestern ScreechOwl on 1946 August 5 (Maguire 2010). The specimen is inthe Museum ofVertebrate Zoology at the University ofCali-fornia Berkeley (Bird 97850). The Western Screech Owl hasdeclined in abundance around Metro Vancouver, Victoriaand the Gulf Islands possibly as a result of predation fromrecent arrival of the Barred Owl.

Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris

The Marsh Wren is widespread in marshes in the lowermainland and a specimen was collected from New West-minster in 1887 (Royal Ontario Museum 51860), but it wasnot found as a breeding species in the city despite repeatedsearches in remnant marsh habitats.

Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus

The Crested Myna was introduced from Asia to thelower mainland in the late 19th century (Campbell et al.1 990). It likely lost nest sites to the more aggressiveEuropean Starling (Johnson and Cowan 1974). The specieswas formerly abundant and nested in the city. W.S.Maguire (Maguire 2010) wrote in 1938:

May 14th Got permission from the caretaker to try

for Mynah nest, big apt. house cor 6th & Royal.

Had seen birds there for several weeks; ten days

since carrying nesting material to a nest on down

pipe under eaves. Got loan of ladder from B.C.

Phone stores dept. Examination of nest disclosed

one ten day ‘chick’ and one addled egg. Will

watch.” and in 1940: “Jan 8th A good many My-

nahs around of late. Noisy, but not quarrelsome.

They also resort to picking over kitchen scraps

thrown on mulch bin.

Maguire collected a specimen in 1946, now housed in theRoyal Ontario Museum (58156). Individual mynas werepresent near the Canada Games Pool in the 1980s. Our last ob-servation in New Westminster was 1987 June 3 when an indi-

vidual was seen flying over Victory Heights. Kelly Sekhon’s(Pers. comm.) last sighting ofmynas in Queensborough was in1989. The species is now extirpated fromNewWestminster.

Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus

The Ring-necked Pheasant is a non-native species in-troduced from Asia. G. Sparrow flushed a hen from a nestcontaining ten eggs in Trapp Ranch on 1943 May 23.Males were heard calling in Richmond near the NewWestminster border in 2012 but we did not detect it onPoint Counts or at other times in the city where we con-sider it extirpated.

Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus

We include a record from G. Sparrow (Maguire 2013)“scared up a mother grouse and her family” on the Cum-berland trail on 1945 May 24. The trail led from NewWestminster to Burnaby Lake and Sparrow could not recallif it was within city limits. We have never seen this speciesin the city.

Lewis’s WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewis

Conservation status:COSEWIC: ‘Threatened’SARA, Schedule 1 , ‘Threatened’.British Columbia: ‘Blue-list’

It is not certain that the Lewis’s Woodpecker nestedwithin city limits but it was nesting in Surrey and Burnabyin the mid-20th century. W.S. Maguire in his field notesfrom the late 1930s and 1940s wrote: “A Lewis’ [sic]Woodpecker ‘raising heck’ beside a hole in another. Prob-

ably a brood of young ones.” [possibly in Green Timbers,

Surrey – RB].On 1939 April 8, Maguire was “above Burnaby Lake

on Cumberland Road” where he wrote:

Lewis [sic] Woodpeckers (mated pair) first I’ve

ever seen down there. Copulation, and seemed

much interested in a nesting hole which appeared

to have been excavated last year.

Today, Cumberland Road is about seven blocks longwhere it runs through Burnaby after leaving New West-minster. The Lewis Woodpecker is now extirpated from theFraser River valley, although a few individuals show upfrom time to time. Breeding populations were extirpated inthe 1960s.

Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana

Conservation Status:British Columbia: ‘Red-list’

W.S. Maguire reported a nest with five eggs on Trapp Ranchon 1939April 23 (Maguire 2010). The species was extirpated fromthe coast many years ago. Attempts have been made with limitedsuccess to reintroduce bluebirds to southeastVancouver Island.


37


Discussion

The condition and variety of native shrubby vegetationis a feature that affects the presence and abundance ofmany species of songbirds (Allombert et al. 2005). QueensPark, Moody Park, Tipperary and Woodlands are examplesof parks that have tall trees but few shrubs and con-sequently support relatively few species of birds comparedto Glenbrook and Hume Park that have both tall trees andunderstory favourable to a variety of birds. Restoration ofsome of the native forest and understory would benefitmany species of birds.

Marshland has largely been lost in New Westmin-ster. A marsh fringe on two river islands in QueensReach off Sapperton Landing and several stretches ofmarsh along parts of the Fraser River including a re-stored marsh in Sapperton Landing, and along the peri-meter of Queensborough is all that remains. Marshdwelling species such as Wood Duck, Virginia Rail(Rallus limicola), Sora (Porzana carolina), MarshWren, Red-winged Blackbird, and Tree Swallow thatwere numerous nearby, were scarce or absent in thecity. Marsh habitat could be established as part of thedrainage ditches in Queensborough.

Suburban gardens across the city provided habitatfor many species such as the Bushtit, Violet-green Swal-low, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, HouseSparrow, Spotted Towhee, Black-capped Chickadee,House Finch, Northwestern Crow, American Robin,Steller’s Jay, American Goldfinch, and Northern Flicker.Encouraging residents to plant shrubs and trees, in par-ticular native species, would collectively enhance thebirdlife in the city.

Our atlas supports the view that urban environmentscan hold substantial numbers of a regional fauna (Aronsonet al. 2014). Slightly fewer than half of the breeding spe-cies in the Greater Vancouver area were represented inNew Westminster. Many cities have begun to recognize thesignificance of birds in the lives of its citizens (Johnston etal. 201 3). In 2006, Chicago approved a plan to improve thehealth and diversity of its wildlife developed by the Chica-go Department of Planning and Development and theMayor’s Nature and Wildlife Committee. The plan identi-fied existing habitats and those in need of restoration, anddescribed how they would be protected. A bird plan co-ordinated the implementation. Similar plans were de-veloped in Baltimore (Nilon et al. 2011 ) and Vancouver isdeveloping a Bird Friendly Strategy to improve bird habit-ats. As the popularity of birding has grown so has its eco-nomic potential. An estimated 85 million Americans wereestimated to have participated in birding activities in 2009placing birding about fifteenth among the most popularactivities (Cordell 2012). More than 36 percent ofAmeric-ans or between 117 and 150 million people are estimated to

participate by 2060 (Cordell 2013). The popularity of bird-ing was underscored by CM’s sighting of a Red-flankedBluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) that created media attentionand drew birders to New Westminster from across NorthAmerica (Toochin 2013). The birding movement creates apotential economic draw for cities and serves the need toconserve their habitats. Atlases give a picture of the distri-bution of breeding species and can guide the preservationand restoration of bird habitats.

Endangered, Threatened and Rare Species

An important issue for New Westminster is conserva-tion of rare and threatened species. A Barn Owl nested re-cently within the city limits in Queensborough and a pairnested about a kilometer to the east of the Brunette Rivercity limit (Pers. comm., S. Hindmarch). Essential elementsfor their survival are places to roost and nest such as inbuildings or specially designed nest boxes, and grassyhabitats with an abundance of rodents. It is not confirmedthat the Common Nighthawk nests in the city. Flat, gravel-topped roofs in Sapperton are the most likely location andthey should be searched for nests. Of lower concern, but aspecies to consider, is the Great Blue Heron. It foragedalong the river within city limits. The closest nestingcolonies were Colony Farms in 2012 and Deer Lake in2013. Herons foraged in the marshes in Queens Reach andalong the Fraser River riverbank especially where therewas a marsh and riparian shrub edge at Sapperton Landingand Queensborough.

Acknowledgements

Kelly Sekhon provided several breeding records forQueensborough and commented on some of the ac-counts. Records for particular species were receivedfrom Jay Brogan, Jonathan Coté, George Clulow, andSofi Hindmarch. Garth Sparrow provided additional in-formation and his field notes of birds from the NewWestminster area from 1 940 to 1 952, and HilaryMaguire kindly made accessible the field notes of W. S.Maguire from 1 938 to 1 944. Ildiko Szabo provided ac-cess to museum records of birds collected by W.S.Maguire. Sharon Butler and Rod MacVicar helpedsearch for birds in the field.

Literature Cited

Allombert, S., A.J. Gaston, and J.-L. Martin. 2005. A nat-ural experiment on the impact of overabundant deeron songbird populations. Biological Conservation126:1 -1 3.

American Ornithologists' Union. 2013. The AOUcheck-list ofNorth American Birds. American Ornithologists' Union,


38


Baltimore, Md. .

Aronson, M.F.J. , F.A. Sorte, C.H. Nilon, M. Katti, M.A.Goddard, C.A. Lepczyk, P.S. Warren, N.S.G. Willi-ams, S. Cilliers, B. Clarkson, C. Dobbs, R. Dolan, M.Hedblom, S. Klotz, J.L. Kooijmans, I. Kuhn, I. Mac-Gregor-Fors, M. McDonnell, U. Mortberg, P. Pysek,S. Siebert, J. Sushinsky, P. Werner, and M. Winter.2014. A global analysis of the impacts of urbanizationon bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenicdrivers. Proceedings of the Royal SocietyB:281 (1780). .

British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas. 2014. Bird StudiesCanada, Delta, B.C. .

British Columbia Ministry of Environment. 2013. Endangeredspecies and ecosystems. .

Bull, E. L. and R.C. Beckwith. 1 993. Diet and foraging be-havior of Vaux’s Swifts in northeast Oregon. Condor95:1 016-1023.

Butler, R.W. 1981 . The historical and present distribution ofthe Bushtit in British Columbia. Murrelet 62:87-90.

Butler, R.W. 1997. The Great Blue Heron. University ofBritish Columbia Press, Vancouver. 1 67 p.

Campbell, R.W. 2009. Autumn fledging ofAnna’s Humming-bird in British Columbia. Wildlife Afield 6:147-148.

Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M.Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1 990a. Thebirds of British Columbia. Vol. I. Royal B.C. Mu-seum, Victoria. 514 p.

Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M.Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1 990b. Thebirds of British Columbia. Vol. II. Royal BritishColumbia Museum, Victoria, B.C.. 636 p.

Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M.Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall, and G.E.J.Smith. 1 997. The birds of British Columbia. Vol. III.University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver,B.C.. 693 p.

Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M.Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall, and A.C. Stewart.2001 . The birds ofBritish Columbia. Vol. IV. UniversityofBritish Columbia Press, Vancouver, B.C.. 739 p.

Cordell, H. K. 2012. Outdoor recreation trends and fu-tures. USDA Forest Service General Technical Re-port. .

Cordell, H. K. 2013. Birding Trends. Internet Research Inform-ation Series. USDA, US Forest Service, Athens, Ga.

COSEWIC. 2014. Committee on the Status of EndangeredWildlife in Canada. .

Dawe, N.K. and A.C. Stewart. 2010. The Canada Goose(Branta canadensis) on Vancouver Island, BritishColumbia. British Columbia Birds 20:24-40.

Dawe, N.K., W.S. Boyd, R. Buechert, and A.C. Stewart.2011 . Recent, significant changes to the native marshvegetation of the Little Qualicum River estuary, BritishColumbia; a case of too many Canada Geese (Brantacanadensis)? British Columbia Birds 21 :11 -31 .

Dinetti, M., B. Cignini, M. Fraissinet, and M. Zappar-oli.1 996. Urban ornithological atlases in Italy. ActaOrnithologica 31 :1 5–23.

Elchuck, C.L. and K.L. Wiebe. 2003. Ephemeral food re-sources and high conspecific densities as factors ex-plaining a lack of feeding territories in NorthernFlickers (Colaptes auratus). Auk 120:1 87-193.

Foote, J.R., D.J. Mennill, L.M. Ratcliffe, and S.M. Smith.2010. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus).The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, ed.).Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. .

Hayes, D. 2005. Historical atlas of Vancouver and theLower Fraser Valley. p.26. Douglas & McIntyre,Vancouver.

Hancock, J. and J.A. Kushlan. 1 984. The Herons Hand-book. Harper & Row, New York.

Hadidian, J. , J. Sauer, C. Swarth, P. Handly, S. Droege, C.Williams, J. Huff, and G. Didden. 1 997. A citywidebreeding bird survey for Washington, DC. UrbanEcosystems 1 :87–102.

Hernandez, S.M,, K. Keel, S. Sanchez, E. Trees, P. Gerner-Smidt, J.K. Adams, Y. Cheng, A.Ray, G. Martin, A.Presotto, M.G. Ruder, J. Brown, D.S. Blehert, W.Cottrell, and J.J. Maurer. 2012. Epidemiology of aSalmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typh-imurium strain associated with a songbird outbreak.Applied and Environmental Microbiology78:7290–7298.

Johnson, S.R. and I. McTaggart Cowan. 1974. Thermaladaptation as a factor affecting colonizing success ofintroduced Sturnidae (Aves) in North America. Cana-dian Journal ofZoology 52:1 559-1 576.

Johnston, S.A., S.S. Nicholas, and J. Parzen. 2013. Green-ing ofCities. Island Press, Washington, D.C. 264 p.

Kennedy, E.D. and D.W. White. 1996. Interference com-petition from House Wrens as a factor in the decline ofBewick's Wrens. Conservation Biology 10:281 -284.

Lancaster, R. and W. Rees. 1 979. Bird communities andthe structure of urban habitats. Canadian Journal ofZoology 57:2358-2368.

Maguire, H. 2010. Walter Stanley Maguire field notes1938-1950. .

Maguire, H. 2013. Garth Sparrow's field notes 1940 -1952. .

Melles, S.J. 2001 . An examination ofurban bird communitiesin relation to the impact of urbanization and the avail-

ability ofpark space in the lower mainland, B.C. M.Sc.thesis. University ofBritish Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.


39


Melles, S.J. , S. Glenn, and K. Martin. 2003. Urban bird di-versity and landscape complexity: Species-environ-ment associations along a multiscale habitat gradient.Ecology and Society 7. .

Moore, W.S. 1995. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). TheBirds ofNorth America, no. 166. (A. Poole and F. Gill,eds.). Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, andAmerican Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Nature Vancouver. 2013. Seasonal checklist: birds ofGreat-er Vancouver, B.C. Nature Vancouver, Vancouver.

Nilon, C.H., S.P. Warren, and J. Wolf. 2011 . Baltimorebirdscape study: identifying habitat and land-covervariables from an urban bird-monitoring project. Urb-an Habitats 6. .

Norvell, R.E., F.P. Howe, and J.R. Parrish. 2003. A seven-year comparison of relative abundance and distance-sampling methods. Auk 120:1 01 3-1028.

Ortega, C. and G.E. Hill. 2010. Black-headed Grosbeak(Pheucticus melanocephalus). The Birds of NorthAmerica Online. (A. Poole, ed.). Cornell Lab of Orni-thology, Ithaca, N.Y. .

Ringler, R.F. 1 978. Breeding bird atlas of Baltimore Cityand County. Maryland Birdlife 34:62.

Ruegg, K. C. and T.B. Smith. 2002. Not as the crow flies: ahistorical explanation for circuitous migration inSwainson's thrush (Catharus ustulatus). Proceedingsofthe Royal Society B. 269: 1 375-1 381 .

Ryder, J. 201 3. Long-term population trends: wrens inVancouver. Discovery (VNHS) 42:49-54.

Schorger, A.W. 1952. Introduction of the domestic pigeon.Auk 69:462-3.

Smith, A. 2014. Ottawa Bird Count. < http://www.glel.car-leton.ca/ottawabirds/index.php >.

Syroteuk, M. 2008. First occurrence of the EurasianCollared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) in the WestKootenay region of British Columbia. Wildlife Afield25:226-228.

Thompson, B.C. 1 977. Behavior of Vaux’s Swifts nestingand roosting in a chimney. Murrelet 58:73-77.

Toews, D. P. L. and D. E. Irwin. 2008. Cryptic speciation ina Holarctic passerine revealed by genetic andbioacoustic analyses. Molecular Ecology17:2691–2705.

Toochin, R. 201 3 . First record of the Red-flankedBluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) for British Columbiaand Canada. In B. Klinkenberg (ed.). 201 4. E-FaunaBC: Electronic atlas of the fauna of British

Columbia [www.efauna.bc.ca] . Lab for AdvancedSpatial Analysis, Department of Geography, Uni-versity of British Columbia, Vancouver. .

Unitt, P. 2004. San Diego County bird atlas. Proceedingsof the San Diego Natural History Museum No. 39,Ibis Publishing, Temecula, Calif. 645 p.

Weber, W.C. 1 967. Birds in cities: a study ofpopulations,foraging ecology and nest sites or urban birds.

M.Sc. thesis, University of British Columbia, Van-couver, Canada.

Winker, K. and C.L. Pruett. 2006. Seasonal migra-tion, speciation, and morphological convergencein the avian genus Catharus (Turdidae) . Auk1 23 : 1 052-1 068 .

Zink, R.M. , J.D. Rising, S . Mockford, A.G. Horn,J.M. Wright, M. Leonard, and M.C. Westberg.2005 . Mitochondrial DNA variation, species lim-its, and rapid evolution of plumage colorationand size in the Savannah Sparrow. Condor1 07: 21 –28 .


516:;-9 9--,16/ 19, ;4): b · 2019. 4. 4. · 4jgph@ ?6a6@5

Documents